Revenant
by Project7723
Summary: LJ finds out his uncle is alive.
1. Chapter 1

LJ Burrows glanced at his watch as he turned off the highway. He could still make work in time if he skipped picking up breakfast at Dunkin's as he had planned.

His stomach growled in protest. He sighed. It was going to be a long morning.

LJ's phone vibrated on the passenger seat as he waited on the traffic light. His heart jumped a little when he reached for it and looked at the screen, all concerns about work and food instantly forgotten.

"Dad?" His voice was more than a little anxious as he answered. He hadn't heard from Lincoln in weeks, and the last time he'd seen him he hadn't been doing too great. He hadn't said anything, but LJ could tell. Since Sara and Mike moved to New York, and then Sophia left, Lincoln had been on a continuous downward spiral.  
LJ worried. He knew it was ridiculous, but he couldn't totally wash away the fear that his dad would land himself in some big, Company-sized mess, and this time, he wouldn't come out the other side.

Like Uncle Mike.

"LJ. Hey, man."

"Hey. What's up, Dad? You sound nervous, or something."

"I'm fine, man." A pause. "LJ, listen, I'm sorry I haven't called you, I've, uh...been sort of a mess. Trying to get my head screwed on straight."

The light turned green.

"It's fine, Dad. Are you okay? Do you need me to fly over?" There was something in his dad's voice that made LJ's gut churn.

"No, I'm fine. It's not like that, though you might wanna fly over anyways. Where are you?"

LJ frowned. "I'm driving. What are you talking about? What's going on?" His fingers curled more tightly about the wheel as worry began to fester in the pit of his stomach.

Silence on the other end.

"Dad?"

"Listen, I need to tell you something. It's important."

LJ swallowed, fighting to stay calm. "Okay, yeah. Give me a second, I'll pull over."

After a quick scan of his surroundings, LJ pulled into Deke's Carwash, which stood abandoned on a gray day like this. He parked his car in back of the small structure and climbed out.

"What's going on, Dad?"

Lincoln sighed on the other end. "Look man, l don't know how to say this."

LJ laughed nervously. "Well, you better figure out a way quick, 'cause you're kind of freaking me out here, Dad." He was pacing, now, phone clucthed tight in his fist.

"Yeah, sorry, man. Uh, I'm in New York right now. I got back from Yemen a couple days ago, and I-"

"You what? Yemen? Dad, that place is a warzone!" He paced faster, left hand clenched in his hair.

Lincoln huffed. "You're telling me. Listen to me, LJ. I went because I got word that your uncle's alive."

LJ stopped short. "What?"

"I got a picture. T-Bag showed up on my porch with a picture when he was released from Fox River. It was in his mail, or something. It was Mike, LJ."

LJ shook his head and tried to understand what he'd just heard. "Okay...but you know that's not real; yeah, Dad?" he said carefully. LJ knew Lincoln was desperate. How much he missed his brother. He guessed Lincoln even felt responsible for Michael's death, though he had never said so. "There's no way, Dad. You know that."

"No, listen to me, LJ. He's alive. I dug up his grave, and he wasn't there, but there was this suit that said-"

"You did _what?!__"_

Lincoln let out an exasperated sigh. "How come nobody focuses on the important part of that sentence? He wasn't there. But his suit said "made for Kaniel Outis" inside, and the paper said "Ogygia" when I erased the other words."

"Dad, what are you talking about? You're not making any sense. Uncle Mike is gone. Okay? You gotta stop doing this to yourse-"

"LJ, stop." Lincoln's voice was frustrated, now. "You're not listening to me..." His voice trailed off, and LJ heard someone else say something on the other end, to which Lincoln replied, "No." The other person spoke again, and Lincoln grunted. "Well how am I supposed to just - you know what, you go ahead-" muffled shuffling blocked out the rest of his words.

"Dad. I need you to start over, okay? I want to understand what you're saying, but you're not making any sense. Dad?"

A beat.

"LJ?" said a soft, almost tentative voice that most definitely did not belong to Lincoln.

LJ's breath caught in his throat, and he fell back, deflated, against the side of the car.

"LJ?" it came again.

"Uncle Mike?" His voice was a choked whisper.

"Yes." A wet laugh. "It's good to hear your voice."

LJ had just enough presence of mind to balk. "_My voice_? I don't..." a sobbing breathe escaped his lips. "I don't understand. I don't understand." At some point, he must have opened his car door, because suddenly he was plopped in the seat, feet still planted on the pavement, his hand fisted in his hair. "How?"

A deep breath on the other end. "Ah...it's a pretty long story."

"Well, I'd love to hear it," LJ heard himself say, vaguely aware that his voice was a couple octaves too high, and his attempt at laughter sounded more like hysterical sob. He tried for a deep breath.

"LJ?" came Michael's uncertain voice.

"I'm okay." Even he knew his answer was unconvincing, but his uncle was quiet as LJ tried to process everything and recollect himself.

After a few minutes, LJ spoke. "Where were you?" He knew it sounded like an accusation, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Maybe it was.

Michael sighed. "LJ, there are answers. And I promise I will give them to you."

With an effort, LJ finally pulled himself together. "You better, because I'm gonna be on a plane within the next couple hours." LJ pulled the door shut and started the car.

Michael sighed again, but this time it sounded relieved. "Okay. I'll explain everything when you get here."  
LJ pulled in a deep breath. "Okay. Uncle Mike?"

"Yeah, LJ."

"It's really good to hear your voice, too. I love you."

Michael's voice was rough when he answered. "I love you, too."

LJ scrubbed the tears from his cheeks with the heel of his hand and fought to steady his voice. "I'll be there soon."

He stared blankly at the screen for several moments after he hung up.

This would be fun to explain to his boss.

_A/N:_

_Hey, all! So, this will probably have three to four chapters, but I'm not sure when the others will be posted. I want to cover Michael and LJ's reunion, also I feel like LJ and Sara must have been pretty tight after the whole Panama experience, and I wanted to explore that a bit here._

_As someone who's still training to best utilize the power of the pen, I would greatly appreciate any comments or criticisms you may have to offer!_

_Adios for now, and God bless! :)_


	2. Chapter 2

LJ rapped on the open door of his supervisor's office, poking his head through.

Samuel Edwards was on the phone, but he motioned for LJ to come in. "No. I told you - " Whoever was on the other end must have spoken again, because Edwards stopped abruptly, something between a smile and a grimace spreading tightly across his face.

LJ winced. Anyone who knew Edwards knew better than to interrupt him.

Edwards sat patiently nodding until the other end was quiet, at which point he calmly said, "You know, Andrew, if you ran half as fast as your mouth, you might actually get a handle on that ever-expanding gut of yours. And if you could do your job half as fast as that, we wouldn't be having this conversation at all. I need those papers, Andrew, badly. Fix it, please." He placed the phone back in its cradle and turned his attention to LJ. "You're late, Burrows," he said, checking his watch. "Well over an hour late, at that. Care to explain?"

An hour? How long had it taken him to get his act together in that parking lot? "Uh, yeah, that's why I'm here. I got a call from my dad on the way here - well, actually, it was kind of..." LJ trailed off, fumbling for words.

Edwards waited, brow quirked.

"It's my uncle, sir," he tried again.

Edwards nodded with a sigh. "I see. I'm sorry for your loss."

LJ frowned. "Oh, no, it's not like that. I just got word that my uncle's alive."

Edwards blinked. "You thought he was dead?"

"Yeah. For the last seven years, actually. Turns out he's actually been... well, I don't really know what he's been doing. Dad said something about Yemen, though."

Edwards squinted .

"Yeah, uh..." LJ paused. "I'm gonna need some vacation days."

"I would say so."

There was an awkward pause.

LJ fumbled for words. "Uh...I can have my current cases wrapped up and down at Jenkins' desk in a couple hours, and - " Edwards waved his hand in the air, cutting LJ off.

"You bring your case files in here. I'll finish them up and get them where they need to go. You get out of here."

LJ blinked, a doubtful expression sneaking over his face.

Edwards let out a long suffering sigh. "They're fender-benders, Burrows. I think I can handle them."

"I - thank you, sir. I really appreciate this." LJ stood. Apparently he had judged the man too harshly.

Edwards just dismissed his thanks with another wave of his hand. "Just one thing," he continued, "you seem to be handling this, ah, news surprisingly well. Almost concerningly well."

LJ smirked. "Believe it or not, this isn't the first time this has happened in my family." He enjoyed the way Edwards' eyebrows climbed further up his forehead before he started towards the door.

"Burrows."

LJ paused in the doorway.

"You and your uncle...were you close?"

A smile spread across LJ's face as he answered. "Yes, sir. He was there for me when my dad...When my dad couldn't be."

_A/N:_

_Hey, y'all! So, that was a bit shorter, I know, but I expect the next one to be pretty long. Michael and LJ have a lot to catch up on, after all. What do y'all want to see between them? I'd love to weave in some things y'all wanted from season 5, if you have suggestions!_

_Constructive criticism welcome! _


End file.
